Two-point attempt in title game loss still the right call

We criticize football coaches for too often playing it safe, and rightfully so.

How many times do you see a team punt away the ball on fourth and inches when a first down would seal the win, or kick the extra point after pulling within one in the waning seconds or overtime?

Which is why, two years later, you still have to admire University School coach Roger Harriott’s decision to go for a two-point conversion on the final play of its 56-55 triple-overtime loss to Ocala Trinity Catholic in the 2010 Class 2B state championship.

“Coach rolled the dice. He said, ‘If we don’t get a yard and a half [after an offside penalty on the defense], we don’t deserve to win,” University offensive line coach Daniel Luque recalled this week.

The play was a run-pass option for running back Macgarett Kings. He saw a hole up the middle that shut quickly after the snap and he was stuffed short as he tried to run the ball in.

The Suns wound up on the wrong end of what “went down as one of the best games in high school football,” according to receiver Jordan Cunningham, and a gamble I wish more coaches would take.

“I’m a spiritual person and I just go with my gut instincts,” Harriott said. “As a group, we decided to go for two and we didn’t second-guess it.

“It didn’t work out the way we anticipated it to, but we move forward. It’s given us an opportunity to teach our guys how to overcome adversity, how to cope with difficult transitions. Even losing, it was a positive experience for us, something we’re extremely proud of.”

Saturday against Madison County, University School will have a second chance to win the school’s first state football championship. That the Suns are back here two years later still in search of that first title is more impressive than had they won in 2010 and then disappeared as a one-shot wonder.

Since becoming the school’s coach in 2006, Harriott has built a program that has staying power among the elite in the state.

“The kids gave a great effort and that’s all we can really ask for,” Harriott said of the 2010 championship game. “It was an amazing platform to help them realize that through hard work and dedication they can accomplish extraordinary things. And it was a motivational tool we were able to utilize to continue to establish our program.”